A former Fiji 7s player has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years for rape.
The former Fiji Corrections Service officer was convicted of one count of rape.
The court heard that the victim is a young woman in her twenties and that the incident occurred at her residence in 2019.
The 47-year-old accused at that time of the incident was in a defacto relationship with the victim’s aunt.
The court also heard on one invitation the accused accompanied his friends to the victim’s residence for a drinking party on Christmas Eve of 2019.
The victim’s father, brother, and the brother’s girlfriend were present at the party.
The accused and the victim consumed substantial alcohol until the early hours of Boxing Day when the victim lost consciousness and fell asleep.
Witnesses saw the accused having sexual intercourse with the victim in her bedroom while she was unconscious and asleep.
When the accused was confronted by the witnesses, the accused blamed alcohol for his conduct, however the victim had no recollection of the incident.
He has been given 30 days to appeal.
